Hey y'all,I've got a Kent TP-1 paddle which I love to use, but, I have to admit, the thing is plumb UGLY with all that rough-sawn looking brass. I've polished it up a bit, but I need to get it completely disassembled to do a complete job. I need to get the contact arms (if that's what you call 'em) out. I've taken all the screws out and tried(gingerly) to punch out the shafts from the bearings to no avail. It was already assembled when I got it. Perhaps it was factory assembled with permanent Loctite?Any ideas on how/if this beast can be disassembled?

You can order spare Parts on-line for your Kent Morse keys and paddles. Just go to the page for your Kent Key product and click on the parts link! This will give you a listing of all the parts for that product.http://www.kent-engineers.com/twinspares.htm

The Kent, mechanically, is a very nice paddle, but you are correct about its appearance. I dissambled mine and did a good polish job on it. On some of the surfaces I had to use fine sandpaper to remove the saw marks. Then I used a Dremel tool and felt wheels with polishing compound. It will take a few hours to do this. When I finished, it had a mirror like surface, much prettier.

Now you have a choice, brass will tarnish and you will have to re-polish it periodically, but this polishing job is easy, once you have a smooth surface. Or you can spray it with a clear acrylic. This will cause the surface to not be as shiny, but it will stay that way for a long time. I initially tested this on a couple of parts, and didn't like the appearance, so I remove the coating.

I also turned the plastic paddles up-side down. The normal way cramps your fingers too close to the table.

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